The treatment of carious pulp exposures involving vital primary teeth currently involves the use of formocresol, a mixture of formaldehyde and cresol. Although millions of formocresol pulpotomies are successfully performed every year, recent data raises serious questions about the use of formocresol as a pulpotomy agent. Formaldehyde has mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. Animal studies have demonstrated that radioactive formaldehyde in formocresol applied to vital pulp tissue is rapidly absorbed systemically and distributed throughout the body. In view of its toxicity and absorption there is an urgent need to develop alternative pulpotomy agents. Glutaraldehyde has been shown to be a superior fixative compared to formaldehyde. It is used extensively in electron microscopy because of its excellent fixative properties. Glutaraldehyde-treated pig or bovine heart valves are in routine use in cardiac surgery. Unlike formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde apparently causes little inflammation when used to treat vital pulps. In view of the superiority of glutaraldehyde as a tissue fixative, its low antigenic properties and its apparent resistance to diffuse through tooth structure in in vitro studies, glutaraldehyde warrants careful evaluation as a pulpotomy agent. The purpose of this project is to determine whether 14C-labeled glutaraldehyde is absorbed systemically following its application to vital pulp tissue in anesthetized dogs, and if it is absorbed, to determine how much is absorbed, where it is distributed and to what organs it binds. These experiments will be carried out using methods previously developed by the investigators to study 14C-formaldehyde abosrption and distribution. Briefly, this involved applying known quantities of labeled aldehyde to pulpotomy sites and following the concentration of label in blood, urine, and selected tissues. If 14C-glutaraldehyde is not absorbed systemically from pulpotomy sites, then it can truly be regarded as an advance in pulpotomy therepy. If it is absorbed systemically, then further studies of its possible systemic effects will be required, based on this pilot work.